No Complications
by Ice Archeress
Summary: OzumaMariam fic! After V-Force. The only thing Ozuma ever cared about was their mission, but now that it's over, Mariam's getting frsutrated with his nonchlant and ignorant attitude. Can this confusion between friends lead to hidden feelings? Review!


**Author's Note:** Hey guys, this is my first one shot.  O_o  Never done this before, but anyways, it's a **Ozuma/Mariam** fic, so if you don't approve, get lost.  ^_~  I must say I didn't agree with this coupling at first, but then, I saw the potential.  Mind you, I support Max/Mariam too, but both boys need to grow a little for it to work, ne?  ^^  I've tried not to make Ozuma or Mariam too OOC (Hey, the girl tried, okay?  ^.^) but I'd still like to know what you think.  Suggestions, criticism, compliments (tee hee) are all accepted, if you're gonna flame, at least give me a reason for it.

**Disclaimer:** After 4 fics and one site, no, I still don't own Beyblade. ;_;  Beyblade is copyright of HUDSON SOFT/TAKARA · BEYBLADE PROJECT · TV TOKYO ©  If I did own Beyblade, then Johnny would be the captain of the Majestics and they would get much more show time.

**Thanx:** Don't know if you'll read this **Beyblader-grl**, and you won't even know that you inspired me to write this, so I'm dedicating this to you!  ^^  But you did, you shed light on this coupling otherwise I'd never think of it. *hugz*

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** No Complications**

With the crowd cheering, the beyblade champion made his way to his team, bowing and waving modestly to his adoring fans.  "Oh yeah!  World champion once again!" Tyson whooped, jumping up and down ecstatically, "I am TOTALLY unbeatable!!"

"Oh boy…" Hilary groaned, "Here we go again.  Now we'll NEVER heard the end of his bragging."  She groaned again as Tyson was bouncing up and down like a jack-in-the-box, "TYSON!  Would you calm down???"

"I'm the world champion," Tyson said, stopping for a brief moment to eye Hilary slyly, "You should bow before the king of Beyblade."

"Bow before YOU???" Hilary shrieked, "DREAM ON!!!"

"I'm glad this a over," Zeo said in obvious relief, looking around glumly at the Bladebreakers, "I'm sorry you guys.  I never should've tried to steal your Bit Beasts.  Can you ever forgive me?"

"That's okay Zeo," Ray said cheerfully, "I guess we sorta understood your position."

Max flashed thumbs-up at Zeo and grinned, "Yeah!  But everything's cool now!"

"Come on dude!" Tyson jumped between Zeo and Ray, throwing his arm around Zeo's shoulders, "We have some catching up to do…I'm starving…how about some food first?  And then we could beybattle!!!  Yeah!  As long as we don't forget to eat, I could beybattle all day long!!!"

Zeo brightened up, grateful that things were back to normal again.

"Tyson," a familiar voice called from behind their joyful reunion.

The Bladebreakers plus Zeo all turned around to see the Saint Shields standing behind them.  As usual, Dunga, tall and strong was standing at the back, sort of leering at them while Mariam was expressionlessly looking at the doorway.  Joseph was standing beside Ozuma who was smirking lightly at Tyson.

"Hey Ozuma," Tyson said, blinking up at the rest of the Saint Shields, "What's up?"

Ozuma smiled slightly and held out his hand, "Congratulations Tyson.  For winning the tournament _and_ keeping Dragoon safe.  Because of you guys, Dragoon and the other sacred Bit Beasts will be safe once again."

"You guys never give up, do you?" Ray chuckled.

"It is our mission," Ozuma repeated, his emerald eyes serious, "And no matter what happens, it will always be our mission.  We will do well to continue to protect the 4 sacred Bit Beasts, so expect us to be around."

"All right!!!" Tyson practically shrieked again, making Hilary cover her ears in disgust to stop them from ringing.  He clapped his hand with Ozuma's and shook it hard, "Don't you worry, Ozuma.  Dragoon is safe with me!  You can count on that!  No one will ever get their hands on it!"

"And you had better keep it that way," Dunga warned from behind Ozuma, "Or else we'll hunt you down and seal them in the rock again!"

Kai grunted from the side, "Don't worry, we'll save you the trouble.  We can look after ourselves."

"Fine.  I'll be looking for a rematch though Kai!" Dunga added, "So keep your guard up!"

"Always."

"I'd like a rematch too!" Ray chimed in with a grin on his face, "Challenge me anytime Joseph and we'll have a go!"

"Me too!" Max agreed, "Drop by anytime Mariam!"

"We'll have to get our blades fixed first," Joseph said with a grimace, showing them the remnants of his shattered Beyblade, "I think it's a high time I got a new one anyways, Vanishing Moot would do better in a sturdier one.  Right sis?"

Mariam didn't answer, instead, torn her fixed gazed away from the exit door and cast Max a slight glance, "Maybe some other time."

Joseph looked up, "Sis?"

Mariam turned away, avoiding all the curious eye contact, "Your blading was truly awesome Max.  Keep it up."  Turning towards the door, she started out.

"Hey, sis???" Joseph looked surprised, "Mariam??"  He glanced quickly at Ozuma who looked just as baffled.

"Mariam?" Ozuma called in his deep voice, "Mariam, wait."

Mariam didn't even look back, just lifting her arm in a half-hearted wave, "See you later everyone, I'll wait for you guys outside Ozuma."  And she disappeared through the doors.

Max looked perplexed, "It wasn't something I said, right?"

"I'm not even sure _what_ you said," Ray added.

"I wonder what's wrong with her, she doesn't usually act like this," Joseph pointed out with a little shrug, "Oh well, what girls go through these days."

"HEY!!" Hilary snarled, immediately in Joseph's face, "WHAT DOES THAT MEAN???"

Joseph looked bewildered, "Okay, nothing, nothing, geez!"

Ozuma was thoughtfully casting his gaze around the open stadium until his emerald eyes rested on the exit doors that Mariam were staring at, immediately recognizing the two figures standing by the doorway.  _King and Queen_.  He nodded slowly to himself, "I think I know what the problem is."  He smiled again at the Bladebreakers, "We should be on our way, see you all later."

"Bye!" Tyson called.

"Don't eat too much," Dunga grunted, following Ozuma and Joseph out the door.

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"Come on Mariam, what's wrong???  You can tell me!" Joseph wheedled as he had to run to keep up with Mariam's quick strides.

"Would you please stop asking?" Mariam snapped, "There's nothing wrong.  N-O-T-H-I-N-G."

"You're even crankier than usual," Dunga remarked.

"Who are you calling cranky???" Mariam demanded, "Take a look in the mirror, you big ape!"

"Mariam," Ozuma said quietly, "Can you please tone it down?  Everyone's staring."

Mariam scowled at their leader, sometimes he was so serious and calm it made her sick, and shut her mouth, ignoring Joseph's pleads.  "Where are we going?"

"To get you two some new blade parts of course," Ozuma replied, rounding the corner, eyeing her strangely.

"I don't want new blade parts," Mariam protested, flinching at the reminder of her shattered Beyblade in her cloak pocket.  She reached in her pocket and touched the cool metal of the broken pieces, feeling a twinge of anger towards the cause of her defeat.  "No."

"Duh." Dunga said with a roll of his eyes, "Yours is broken into a million, gazillion pieces, same with Joseph's.  Of course you need new blade parts.  How do you expect to Beyblade without new parts???"

Mariam clenched her fists, emerald eyes sparking with anger.  //_They destroyed my blade, they completely tore it apart…there's no way I can ever repair the damage they did to Sharkrash…why…why did I lose so badly?_//  She seemed so angry that she couldn't even get her words out right, finally with a frustrated growl, she stomped away.

"Mariam!" Ozuma called sharply, shaking his head.

"Not now Ozuma!  I'm leaving." Mariam snapped back at him, disappearing through the crowd.

"Wait sis!" Joseph called, looking utterly amazed at his sister's behaviour.

"Leave her," Ozuma said calmly, "Let her be.  She needs some space."

"What's up with her?" Dunga demanded, "But of course, she's Mariam, what was I expecting?"

"That's enough Dunga," Ozuma warned, "Try not make any snide remarks when she's already frustrated okay?  I'll deal with this.  Let's just go get your parts Joseph."

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Mariam sat glumly in the corner as she watched Joseph and Dunga battle, Vortex Ape against Joseph's newly enhanced, power-driven Vanishing Moot.  She sighed to herself as she watched Joseph's blade cut through Dunga's attacks like paper.  //_But I don't want a new blade.  I spent years making the perfect combination and creating the balance between attack and defense or neither outweighs the other.  And now I have to start all over again?  It just doesn't make sense, how could I have not only lost the beybattle, but lost my beyblade as well?  Joseph's lucky, he doesn't think as much as I do, I'm just casting more trouble on my already headaching mind._//

"Mariam." A voice spoke up quietly from the shadows.

Mariam didn't even look up to see who it was, she just propped her head on her hands in a dejected way and sighed again, "What do you want now Ozuma?"

"Where is it?"

Mariam gave up and finally looked up at the boy sitting on a crate in the very corner with his arms crossed, "You know, if you're talking to me, you could at least look at me otherwise I'd be thinking that you were talking to the wall."

Ozuma ignored her sarcasm and stood up, stepping slightly away from the darkness, "Where is it?"

"Where is _what_??" Mariam demanded in exasperation.

"You know what I'm talking about."

"Geez…I wonder." Mariam growled, "Would it hurt you just to be a little more clear with whatever you're rambling about???"

"All right then," Ozuma said calmly, "Your Beyblade.  Sharkrash.  Where are they?"

"Sharkrash is here," Mariam said, holding up the bit piece from her pocket, "I don't have my Beyblade."  She sounded angry, "As if you didn't know that."

"Then why didn't you buy some parts when Joseph got his?" Ozuma asked.

"What is this?  Twenty questions?"

"Are you going to give up beyblading because King and Queen shattered your blade?" Ozuma questioned again.

Mariam flinched at the mention of the two parts hunters, causing an unpleasant trip down memory lane of her most tragic defeat.  She didn't answer Ozuma, not because she didn't want to, but because she didn't have an answer.

"Mariam.  I'm waiting." Ozuma said patiently.

"I don't know…" Mariam muttered, "No.  I'm not getting a new blade."

Ozuma sighed, looking exasperated, "Mariam, I'm getting tired of this childish behavior from you –"

Mariam stared at him in disbelief, "Excuse me?  You know what your problem is?  You think that everything's so simple.  You win, good, practice harder and you'll keep winning.  You lose, practice harder or you'll keep losing.  You're such a straight edge!  Why can't you just try to understand why I'm acting the way I am?"  Her voice was so loud that Joseph and Dunga stopped their intense battle to advert their eyes in their direction.  Not that she cared much, it was just that Ozuma was really getting under her skin these days.  Ever since he and Tyson had that major Bit Beast showdown to prove who should take the ancient Bit Beasts, Mariam thought that Ozuma had never really been the same.  

Ozuma looked momentarily taken back, but he quickly recovered his composure, "Because things are better thought up simple.  Simple and done.  If you think of it so complicatedly, you'll only end up confusing yourself.  By sulking and withdrawing yourself, you're not accomplishing anything.  Stop making problems for yourself, life is problem enough without adding further confusion.  Now, for the last time Mariam, _where is it?_"

"**_What_**????" Mariam practically screamed.

Ozuma sighed, crossing his arms, "Your blade."

"I told you I don't have it," Mariam snapped, wishing that she could do something drastic, like slap him across the face, but she would never live it down.  Though Ozuma was the leader and he was in control and the fact that he was a total straight edge, Mariam had the feeling that Ozuma could never really let go of the mission they had been assigned with.

"Mariam, I'm not in the mood for silly games, give me your blade," Ozuma said, "Don't tell me you don't have it.  I saw you pick up the pieces after the battle."

"Why do you care?" Mariam muttered, wishing that Dunga and Joseph would stop staring at her like an animal in the zoo and continue their stupid Beybattle.  She scowled up at her leader and slowly pulled the bag containing her Beyblade fragments out of her cloak pocket.  But before she could say a word, the bag was taken out of her hands.  "Hey!"

"I'll keep this for now." Ozuma said coldly, pocketing the bag inside his cloak, his emerald eyes glittering coldly, "Until you get some sense.  Get yourself a new Beyblade, Mariam."  And with that, he walked off into the night, leaving Dunga and Joseph open-mouthed and Mariam steaming.

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"BURNING CERBERUS!!" Zeo yelled, "CHAIN STORM!!!"

"DRAGOON!!!  HYPER VICTORY TORNADO ATTACK!!!" Tyson hollered.

Both beyblades clashed and burst into smoke, Kai, Max, Ray, and Kenny as spectators covered their noses and coughed.  When the smoke cleared, both Beyblades flew back into their owners' hands.

"Awesome!!!" Tyson shouted happily, "This is great, now that things are back to normal, we get to battle and eat everyday!!  No more slugs trying to capture our Bit Beasts –"

"Oh.  So that's what you think of us, huh?" an all-too familiar voice mocked from behind.

Tyson whirled around to see Ozuma standing on the roof of the dojo with a slight smirk on his face and sighed.  He was getting all-too used to seeing him sneaking up behind him, especially sneaking behind them and standing on roofs.  "Hey Ozuma, haven't you ever heard of a doorbell??"

Ozuma leaped down and landed easily in front of Tyson, speaking in a slightly sneering tone, "No, what's that?"

"Guess you haven't heard of entering through the front door either huh?" Tyson asked.  "HEY!"  He got into battle position, "Are you here for a rematch???  If you are, I'm SO pumped, we'll put on a great show –"

Ozuma held up his hand as a gesture for Tyson to shut up, "No, not today Tyson.  Sorry."

Tyson relaxed his shooting arm, "Too bad.  Then why are you here??"  He groaned, "No, don't tell me that some weirdo freaks are coming after us to steal our Bit Beasts _AGAIN_!!!"

Ray came up and put his hand on Tyson's shoulder, "Why don't we let Ozuma do the talking Tyson instead of you doing the guessing?"

"Good idea Ray," Max laughed while Kai grunted.

"No, no one's after your Bit Beasts," Ozuma said with a slight grin, "I'm here on business."

"You own a BUSINESS???" Tyson cried, his eyes popping out, "How much do you charge per hour??  You must be RICH!!!"

Everyone else fell down anime style, sweatdropping.

Ozuma sighed, "No Tyson.  Not that kind of business."  He turned to Max, "I heard that your dad fixes Beyblades."

Max blinked, "Well, yeah.  We own a hobby shop just down the street.  What's up?"

Ozuma reached under his cloaked and took out a piece of a broken weight disk, wordlessly handing it to Max.

Max took it, holding it up to the sunlight to get a better look, "Yeah, it's broken all right…really badly I might add…w-wait…**HEY**, this is a part of Mariam's blade!"

"Are you sure?" Ray asked, peering over Max's shoulder to get a closer look.

"Yeah, I totally remember the blades that've beat me before!" Max confirmed as Ozuma took out the rest of Mariam's broken blade parts.  "I thought these would be a long gone by now."

"Mariam's kept them" Ozuma told him, "And she absolutely refuses to get a new one.  Is there any chance that they could be fixed?"

"Hmm…" Max said, eyeing the parts fragments doubtfully, "I seriously doubt it.  They're in bits and pieces now.  Really small bits and pieces, I might add.  I could ask my dad to give it a try, but I'm definitely not making any guarantees here.  When King slashed the blade, he made sure that it would stay slashed."

"If they can't be fixed," Ozuma said thoughtfully, "Would it be possible to just design exactly the same parts?"

"Umm…?" Max cast him a blank look, "I suppose that's what my dad's for…but I don't get it.  It'd save you much less trouble just to go out and buy a new one.  It'd be newer and more advanced too."

"Joseph got a new one," Ozuma explained, flashing Ray a grin, "He'll be coming for you sooner or later, a word of warning for you and Driger.  But Mariam won't get a new one.  She just sits there and sulks about it.  Not to mention snapping at me every time I come close.  It's really not like her, but I suppose fixing her blade would make a difference.  That – is what I'm hoping for."

"Leave it with me tonight," Max offered, "I'll tell my dad to give it a shot.  Come to the shop down the street tomorrow morning and I'll tell you what the situation is."

"Thanks," Ozuma said, "The sooner Mariam cheers up, the better is it for all of us.  Lately we've been bickering way too often."

"Not as much as Tyson and Hilary I bet," Ray added in with a grin.

"It's not MY fault she's such a bossy, spoiled, know-it-all princess!" Tyson protested.

"I'm heading back now," Ozuma said, turning with a brief wave, "Thanks again Max, see you tomorrow."

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"Sis, cheer up," Joseph said, whirling his new blade in his hand before landing on the spot beside Mariam and crouching down, "Come on, a loss is a loss, life goes on."

"It was not just a loss," Mariam said sharply, "I lost my blade as well."

"So, get a new one!" Dunga grunted, "It's as simple as that, I'm considering it.  Since Joseph beat me yesterday with his.  It's gotta be an improvement."

"How many times do I have to say this before you boys get it through your thick skulls?" Mariam demanded, "I'm not settling for a new blade, I liked my old one."

"But it's in pieces," Dunga argued.

Mariam glared at him angrily, she didn't like being reminded at all, but then again she was completely at the loss for comebacks since it was true.  Instead of making her feel better like Joseph and Dunga intended, she felt worse, well…at least Joseph intended to make her feel better anyways.  "Where did Ozuma go anyways?"

"Why?" Joseph asked, "I thought he was driving you crazy."

Dunga laughed, "She gets annoyed at everything…and _everyone_."

Mariam chose to ignore Dunga's comment this time round and made a mental note to kick his butt later, "I know, he did.  But I guess I sorta got a little too defensive…I mean…he is the leader of the Saint Shields.  I should've respected his decision a little more.  It's just…the mission…oh Lord…has he forgotten it yet?  To me…it's ancient history…he's such a straight edge though…it's like a little change would kill him.  I'll bet you guys 20 bucks that he tossed my blade remnants in the trash."

"20 bucks is it, sis!" Joseph said excitedly, slapping his sister's hand, "I can use it for that ultra cool attack ring that I saw in the shop."

Mariam stared at him, "Did you hear what I said Joseph??  It **OZUMA** we're talking about, he hates it when we brood or stir up confusion."

"I heard you fine sis," Joseph said, leaping off the crate and onto the cement, "And I think that you're wrong."

"Why?  You're throwing away 20 bucks –"

"Ahem." There was the sound of someone approaching and the Saint Shields looked up to see Ozuma walking towards them with a strange look on his face.

"Oh hi Ozuma!" Joseph exclaimed, just a little too brightly.  Mariam could feel the blush that was staining her cheeks, she hoped that he hadn't heard the comment she made about her Beyblade.

But if Ozuma had heard, he made no comment, "Things have been pretty dull around here lately.  No action, no battles, I'm dead bored."

"Where were you?" Dunga wanted to know, "Looking for action?"

"I ran into Tyson and them.  Told Ray that you were looking for a rematch, Joseph."

"Excellent!" Joseph grinned, "Too cool.  Now all I need is that 20 bucks from Mariam and I'm set."

Ozuma's swift eyes glanced at the shorter boy, raising his eyebrows, "20 bucks?"

Mariam smacked Joseph hard on the head, "Oh, nothing."

Ozuma stared at her for a moment and then resumed his usual sitting position on the crate with one leg propped up, "Mariam, you're not sick.  Go outside.  Get some fresh air.  You've been in here for too long."

Mariam groaned and laid down on the bench, "No thanks.  I'll just stay in here for a few more days…until I figure out what to do about my blade."

"Mariam," Ozuma said warningly, "It's for your own good you know."

Mariam let out an exasperated growl, sitting up, scowling.  "Can you please _stop_ that?" Mariam demanded.

Looking puzzled, Ozuma turned around to look at her, "Stop what?"

Perhaps Joseph and Dunga sensed an argument brewing and quickly, quietly, and not to mention smartly, strode away before the storm hit.

"Those little tidbits of advice that you always give," Mariam growled, "That you always think that you know what's '_good_' for me?  I'm a big girl you know.  Can you, for once in your life, act _human_???  Yeah, we have a mission, I know, I know, I know!  But ever since our ancestors entrusted us with this so-called mission, that's all you ever think about.  It's OVER.  Get it through your head, I know that what you think about at night, wondering what we're going to do now that there's no mission.  Hello?  We weren't born for the mission, I'll tell you what I'm going to do, I'm going to _live_."

Ozuma faced the wall, staring at the cold concrete, "That – is not true.  And besides, I know that our mission isn't of much value anymore."  His voices trailed off faintly.

"Yes, it is!" Mariam snapped, "It's always about the mission.  You never talk like your old self anymore.  When we were kids, we beybladed for fun.  When I lost a match back then, you always said that it was all right, that it was just a game, that it was important to get better, but also to have fun.  I don't think you even know what **_fun_** is anymore!  Now it always, I lost a match, have to get better, must not lose again.  I'm getting really sick of it you know!  Why do you think everything's so dead simple???  You are such a straight edge and you're driving me completely CRAZY!  Why can't you leave me alone and let me figure things out for myself???"

Ozuma said nothing, staring at her for the longest time until Mariam was beginning to feel uncomfortable under his penetrating gaze, then, turning around, he headed back outside without a word.

"Fine!" Mariam growled, glaring at his retreating back, "Walk away.  Give me the stupid silent treatment.  See if I care, at least you're not the one with the broken Beyblade!"

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Ozuma hesitated before walking into the hobby shop that Max had directed him too.  This wasn't his thing, usually the Saint Shields fixed their own blades…but in this case, he needed professional help.  But still, he felt as if he was entering forbidden territory.  Groaning silently to himself as he peered into the shop, Ozuma thought wearily, //_The things I do to make her happy…sometimes I wonder if it's really worth it…so we don't see things eye to eye…big deal…_//  He shook his head to clear it, after that argument, he couldn't sleep much at all last night and it was starting to take a toll on his energy.

"Hey there Ozuma!" Max's voice bubbled out.

Ozuma turned around to see the blond boy poke his head through a door, "Hey Max.  Good morning."

"Yeah, awfully early, aren't you?" Max said with a yawn, coming out of the door, "I just got up a few minutes ago…come on, Dad's in the other room."  Max led him into the front of the shop where Mr.Tate was talking to no other than Kenny and Tyson.  "Hey Tyson."

"MAX!" Tyson practically shouted, "I was wondering when you'd wake up already!  Come on, Zeo's waiting for us at the park, so is Ray, we came here to pick you up.  Oh – Ozuma, whatcha doing here?"

Ozuma chuckled, "Tyson, you have a memory span of a gnat.  I came here to see what could be done about Mariam's blade, remember?"

"Oh yeah," Tyson said, scratching his head in puzzlement, "Then how come Mariam isn't here?"

"Oh…" Ozuma looked a bit uncomfortable, "Well…we haven't really been getting along lately so we're trying to avoid each other.  I keep telling her to go out and get a new blade, but she would rather stay inside and sulk and then we start arguing over these little things.  But never mind that, can it be fixed or not?"  //_And I am NOT a straight edge…if I was…I wouldn't be doing this…I would've threw her blade in the trash…_// he thought crossly.

Max picked up the broken pieces and let them slowly fall from his hand, "Dad said that he can't fix the blade, it in way too many pieces.  But we could try to copy the proportions from what's left of her parts and rebuild almost exactly the same blade."

Ozuma's face brightened, "That would be great.  I'll stay and help."

"Say wha?" Tyson asked with a confused look on his face.

"Tyson," Kenny said in exasperation, "Don't you listen to anything I've said before?  Do you want us to stay and help?"

"No, it's okay," Ozuma said, "I'll do this.  You guys go ahead."

"I'll stay and help too," Max said, "Good practice, you know."  He winked at Ozuma before handing him some tools.

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"Now for the last part," Ozuma said, pocketing Mariam's new blade parts in his cloak, "I have to get her attack ring back from King and Queen.  And then finally, maybe she'll show a smile or two, I don't know how much longer I can stand the tension between us.  Dunga's no help either, he's only good at making her feel worse and Joseph is too busy with his new blade to provide much comfort."  Ozuma pulled the hood of his cloak over his head and started from roof to roof, it wouldn't be hard to find King and Queen.  Though the royal duo had turned the tables on Dr. K and ended up having a fair battle with Tyson, they were still nasty parts hunters.  All he had to do was look in places where kids were Beybattling.  And he didn't need to look far, passing the beach, Ozuma caught eye of King and Queen practicing with their loot bag beside them.  Dropping down into the bushes, Ozuma peeked out to get a closer view.

"Are you spying too?" a voice asked from behind.

Ozuma nearly jumped out of his skin, he was used to sneaking up behind people, but he definitely wasn't used to people sneaking up behind _him_.  Whirling around, he came face to face with a spiky blue haired boy with matching blue eyes.  He had on sleek black boots and was holding a shining Beyblade in his hands.  "Who are you?  And what are you doing sneaking up behind me?"

"Oh, I was thinking of the right time to jump out at them," the boy jerked his thumbed at the practicing royal duo, his face a picture of pure disgust, "Trying to pick the best time, that's all."

Ozuma stared at the boy, he looked familiar, but still his emerald eyes flashed with suspicion.

The boy however, took a closer look at Ozuma and grinned, "Hey, I know you, you're that guy who battled Zeo in the finals.  Leader of the Saint Shields."

Ozuma nodded slowly, taking off his hood and realization clicking in his head.  He was the kid that was supposed to battle Tyson and Max but withdrew at the last moment.  "That's me."

"Cool." The boy said, holding out his hand, "The name's Kane.  And I'm here, trying to think of a way to get revenge on those two goons over there.  I'll never forgive them for smashing my blade into pieces right before the finals."

Ozuma shook the boy's hand, "Pleasure.  I'm Ozuma.  I'm looking for a battle against them too, to get back my team-mate's stolen attack ring."

"Wanna team up?" Kane asked with a friendly grin, "You can expect that they'll gang up against you if you dive in there by yourself."

"Sure." Ozuma said with a slight smile, "Why not?  The faster I get over with this, the better."  And with that, both boys stepped out from the bushes, making King and Queen stop their blading to glance their way.

"Hey, I recognize that kid," King jeered, pointing at Kane, "Don't tell me you come back for a rematch.  Oooh, you got a new blade, huh?"

"That's right," Kane said seriously, the smile disappearing from his face, "And this time you won't get so lucky.  I promise you.  I'm going to rip you apart just like you did to me and Jim."

"And who's that kid?" Queen asked, looking at Ozuma contemptuously.

Ozuma ignored her comments, his emerald eyes fixed and focused, "I'm here to retrieve the attack ring that you stole from my team-mate.  I'll battle you for it."

"And which friend is that?" King demanded, "We can't be expected to remember everything we stole.  We might not even have it anymore."

Ozuma felt a tingle of anger, but kept his cool, trying to ignoring the bristling Kane beside him, "You battled Mariam in the tournament finals and stole her attack ring, and I want it back."

"Ohhhh…" Queen laughed, pointing to the attack ring on her beyblade, "You mean this ring?  It's really suited my Beyblade quite well, you know."  She started laughing.

"Put your beyblade where your mouth is!" Kane snapped, whipping out his launcher with a growl. (A/N: I'm SO sorry, but I heard that phrase so many times that I just HAD to use it.)

"Ours for yours," King taunted, flipping the hair casually from his eyes, "If you beat us, you can take any part you want, if you lose, your attack rings are ours…and they look rather nice from the professional eye."

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"FLASH LEOPARD, CROSSFIRE!!" Ozuma roared, as his black blade zipped around and smashed into King's blade.

King winced, "ARIEL!!!!  SKY FIRE!!!"  His giant ram Bit Beast smashed into Ozuma's, causing Ozuma to dig back his heels to avoid being tossed back.

"Hold him Flash Leopard!!" Ozuma yelled.

Meanwhile Kane's newly enhanced Beyblade was beating back Queen's with newfound aggression until Queen summoned her Bit Beast, Gabriel and hit Kane with an "ULTIMATE SKY!"

"I'm not giving up, no way am I going to be beaten by the same cheat twice!!" Kane growled, "ATTACK!!!"

"Tsk tsk," Queen sneered, "There's no way you could win without a Bit Beast.  GABRIEL!"  One smash and Kane's blade crashed back, starting to wobble.

"No!" Kane cried.

"Crossfire!" Ozuma yelled as he and King both struggled for control, "Come on Flash Leopard!"

King grunted, urging his blade forward just as Queen's blade came charging down and slammed Ozuma's away.  Ozuma snarled and tried to regain his blade composure as Queen's blade leapt in the air and landed on King's in a familiar transfer-of-power act.  Ozuma winced, it was going to be hard now.

"ATTACK!!" Kane yelled, pulling himself back in the game.  His beyblade spun in the air and landed on top of Queen's, ripping the blade away from King's while it was still in transfer power.  Grabbing the chance of Queen's weakened blade, Kane's blade rammed as hard as it could and sent it flying.  Ozuma came up from behind and tossed King's blade high in the sky.  The blades of the royal duo both landed hard and slowly came to a stop.

"YES!" Kane yelled, pumping his fist in the air, "Revenge taken!"  He looked ultra happy and proud.

King bitterly tossed his blade and loot bag at Kane, "Take what you want, but you'll pay next time."

Kane shook his head, "There's nothing you have that I want.  Just the looks on your faces when we won were good enough for me."

"Mariam's attack ring," Ozuma said patiently to Queen who sourly took it out of her blade and tossed it bad-temperedly at him.  The royal duo sulked off.

Ozuma put the final piece of Mariam's blade on, holding it in the gleaming sunlight, "All done.  And about time too."

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Mariam sighed, the tension between her and Ozuma were closing in at an unbearable height.  If only he wasn't so serious and ignorant…she wasn't sure how much so could stand.  Another morning, another day, another 24 hours stuck in tension.  Grabbing her cloak, she looked outside warily, it was foggy, ugh.  That would mean she would be stuck in here with Dunga, Joseph and Ozuma until the rain wore off, but she had other plans.  She couldn't believe how insensitive Ozuma was to her feelings, he might as well be made out of stone from the way he was acting.

"Mariam, where are you going?" Joseph asked.

"For fresh air," Mariam said shortly.

"You could've gone when it wasn't about to rain," Dunga pointed out, gesturing to the grey clouds, "The fog's so dense that you can hardly see though it."

"The only thing dense around here is your brain Dunga," Mariam scoffed, "That's why you can hardly think with it."

"Sis, why didn't you tell me you got a new blade?" Joseph suddenly cried out, diving past Mariam's cloak, "Wow, you designed it to look just like your old blade, how did you do it?"

Mariam snatched her cloak away, staring at the ground as a gleaming Beyblade clunked on the ground, "Sharkrash…?"  She bent down and examined the Beyblade, "This can't be, Sharkrash was destroyed."  Mariam looked suspiciously at Dunga and Joseph, "You guys don't have anything to do with this, do you?"

"Me????" Dunga exclaimed, looking taken back, "I liked it when you were sulking."

"You'll regret that," Mariam said, putting her bit piece on the blade.  She turned around the blade several times in her hand and tested it's weight, "So familiar…so much alike to my old one…can it be?  Take out your blade Joseph, I'm taking this one for a test drive."

Joseph blinked, "But sis…"

"GOOOOO Sharkrash!!!" Mariam released her beyblade forcefully, forcing Joseph to release his too in order to defend himself.

"Vanishing Moot!!!" Joseph yelled.  "GREAT ROCK!!!"  
            "ABYSS FIRE!!" Mariam shouted, her voice echoing the empty room.  New fire burned in her eyes and she felt more alive than she had in the days, "Sharkrash!!!!!!!!!!"

Joseph gaped and gasped as his blade slammed into the wall, grinding into the concrete horribly, "S-sis?  Are you feeling okay?"  Dunga's face mirrored Joseph's in shock.

"Better than ever," Mariam said, catching her blade, "But there's one thing I still don't get, who fixed it?"

"Not me," Joseph and Dunga chorused.

"Hey…where's Ozuma?" Mariam asked curiously, suddenly realizing that their leader was nowhere to be seen, "Wait…you guys don't suppose _he_ fixed it?"

"Oooh, then you own me 20 bucks sis!" Joseph said, rubbing his hands together, "And just in time too, I was going to challenge Ray!"

"Shut up," Mariam snapped, "Where is he?"  Dunga and Joseph both shrugged.  Mariam sighed and slipped on her cloak, "I'll be back."

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Mariam shivered, Dunga was right, the fog was pretty thick and cold too.  Knowing Ozuma, he'd probably be in some cold, depressing forest, practicing blading against trees in this sort of weather and thinking about whether their mission was worth holding onto or not.  The wind forced her head down and she slammed right into someone.  "Hey, ow!"

The other boy fell on his butt, wincing, "Gee…sorry."

Mariam took a closer look past the fog and called in a doubtful voice, "Max?"

"Yeah, it's me," Max groaned, standing up and picking up his umbrella, "Oh, hey there Mariam.  Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was running to, I was in a hurry to get home before it starts to rain, you should head back too, before you get totally drenched."

"Have you, by any chance, seen Ozuma today?" Mariam asked hopefully.

"Nope, not at all," Max said, "Sorry.  By the way, did you try out Sharkrash?"

"Excuse me?" Mariam looked surprised.

"Your blade." Max said, looking confused, "Did you battle with it after it was rebuilt?"

"How do you know it was rebuilt?" Mariam asked, looking puzzled, surely it couldn't have been _him_, where would _Max_ get her blade from?

"Oh.  Ozuma stopped by my dad's hobby shop yesterday and we helped him rebuild it," Max explained, "It works fine right?"

//_Ozuma!_//  "Yeah, yeah," Mariam said distractedly, "It's fine…great…awesome.  Listen, I've gotta go now, see you later Max!"  She ran off, her ponytail flying with the wind as Max stared after her.  

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//_Just my luck…when I accused him of being a jerk, he was actually helping!  How often does that happen???  I'm never going to be able to face him, ughhhhh.  I had to go open my big mouth, and I say that Dunga has a bad temper!_//  She looked at the sky, thinking that she saw a flash of thunder.  She didn't want to head back, head back and feel Joseph and Dunga staring at her as if she lost her mind and Ozuma's silent stare gave her goose bumps.  She figured that he'd probably be a lot colder to her tonight.  Before she headed back, she couldn't resist another spin with her Beyblade.  Resting the cool metal between her fingers, she hooked it on her launcher and let it fly, watching as it cut through trees.  It felt so long since she held her Beyblade.  Just as she was about to call her Beyblade back in her hand, another one zoomed out of the bushes and slammed into hers.

"Hey!" Mariam yelled in surprise, "Who's there??"  Her eyes focused on the familiar spin of the black Beyblade shoving against her.  "Ozuma?"

"Crossfire!" a voice shouted from somewhere in the bushes.  The black blade immediately tossed Mariam's back, gaining more ground.

"H-hey!" Mariam shouted, her eyes adverting around to see where Ozuma was, "Ozuma, quit that.  Where the heck are you?"

"Concentrate Mariam," Ozuma's voice said from somewhere.

Mariam turned back around, growling at the Beybattle before her.  Suuuuure…he was telling her to concentrate while he played Mr. Invisible.  "Sharkraaaaaash!  ABYSS FIRE!!!"  Mariam's energy exploded within her blade, tailing Ozuma's like crazy.  "Don't let up Sharkrash!!  Attack!!"  She watched as Flash Leopard dodged back and forth, and her blade followed with smooth velocity.  The two blades spun and weaved around each other.  There was feeling that Mariam couldn't quite explain, it didn't seem like he was training her or competing against her…it seemed…just…fun.  She didn't have fun beyblading like this often, so it was a change…she wondered what was going on.

"Crossfire!!!"

"Abyss Fire!!"

Mariam covered her eyes when their attacks slammed together, creating an intense explosion of light before bursting into heavy smoke.  There was something that sounded a lot like thunder and when Mariam straightened up, she realized that rain was pouring down.  She reached out a hand to catch the black blade that spun towards her, watching, stunned, as her blade bounced somewhere into the trees.

Ozuma emerged from the bushes, holding her Beyblade with a slight smile on his face.  "Nice blading Mariam.  It's hard to believe that you've improved from all that sulking you've been doing."

"Thanks," she said awkwardly, taking hers and giving him his.  There was silence between them while the rain pounded quietly against the leaves of the trees.  Then both of them started talking at the same time.

"Mariam, I wanted –"

"Ozuma, listen, I'm –"

They both shut their mouths at the same time as well, being followed by another awkward silence.

"You first," Mariam suggested, shaking her damp hair from her eyes.

"Fine," Ozuma agreed, "Look, I'm sorry I gave you such a hard time after you lost your blade.  I should've considered the fact that you would already be hurt enough rather than putting more pressure on you.  You were right, I was being a little too ignorant.  When the mission got passed down to us, I forgot the fact that we used to be great friends and came just to think that we were just team-mates for the purpose of getting things done."

Mariam nodded slightly, the apology made her feel loads better, especially since it sounded like he wasn't the least bit mad at her.  She could feel the tension between them slowly relax and loosen, "I'm sorry too, for overreacting.  I didn't mean to blurt out all those things –"

"But they were true," Ozuma interrupted, pausing, "Well…I would say that the part about me not acting human was a bit outrageous…but still…"

Mariam smiled bit and sat down on a log, "Thanks Ozuma."

Ozuma looked at her quizzically, pretending to be interested in the ever-darkening clouds, "For what?"

Mariam rolled her eyes, "Oh pl-ease.  You're such a bad actor.  For fixing my Beyblade of course!"

"How do you know it was me?" Ozuma asked softly, shaking rain water from his hair.

"I ran into Max," Mariam said as if it wasn't important, "He told me."

"I really didn't want you to feel so bad," Ozuma said, looking away, "Joseph told me that I was making you feel worse so I decided to fix up your blade if it was possible.  Mariam, it isn't your blade.  Your original blade is still in pieces, that's a redesign of your parts, since you wanted the same blade so badly."

Mariam smiled again, "They're so alike that I couldn't even tell the difference.  I thought this was my blade."

Ozuma laughed, "Well, that's a good thing right?"  He sat down beside her, looking up at the rainy skies, "To be honest, I miss the days where we would just go out and beybattle for a little fun."

"We could do that now," Mariam protested, "We know the Bladebreakers will take good care of their Bit Beasts.  I trust Max to take care of Draciel, he doesn't need me tagging behind him, spying on him, and putting in my two cents every minute.  We need to live Ozuma, even though it might be what the tribe told you, but still, the world does not rest on our shoulders."

Ozuma chuckled, "You know, I'm lucky, I have you to knock some sense into me when I need."

"Oh yeah, you can definitely count on that," Mariam said with a smirk.  "You really didn't need to go out of your way to fix my blade.  I would've survived."

"Right," Ozuma said, with a slight snicker, "Watching you sulk all day, made _me_ depressed!  But seriously Mariam, you're an important part of the team, the Saint Shields wouldn't be complete without you.  I know you think that I'm a jerk sometimes, but I try to do what's best for you."

Mariam nodded slightly, studying him carefully, something seemed different about the way he was talking to her now, compared to the way that he used to talk to her.  Something more serene…She could feel an odd pounding by her heart as she slowly met his piercing gaze.  Knowing that he did care about her feelings made a huge difference, but now she felt even more confused.

Ignoring the rain pounding around them, Ozuma leaned closer to her, brushing stray strands of her navy hair away from her eyes, his serious eyes looked deep within hers.  Mariam froze at his touch, her brain screaming at her to move, but she felt powerless to do so.  They were so close…close enough to…

"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU TWO DOING?????" a loud voice roared.

Ozuma and Mariam both jumped and looked behind them, startled.  Dunga and Joseph were standing behind them, shielding their heads from the rain, both of them looked like the world had just exploded in front of them.

"ARE YOU TWO NUTS???" Dunga yelled, "INSANE???  HAVE YOU BEEN IN THE COLD FOR TOO LONG???"

"Sis!!" Joseph yelled gleefully, "You own me 20 bucks!!"

Dunga grabbed Joseph by the collar and shook the shorter boy hard, "Are you crazy as well???  Didn't you see what I just saw????"

"S-sure…" Joseph choked, "That means I get my 20 bucks…"

"Get lost," Mariam snapped, rolling her eyes, "Both of you, what are you doing???  Spying on us."

"We weren't," Dunga growled, "It's raining pretty hard, so we came to look for you, duh!"

"Well, turn your sorry butt around and get outta here," Mariam shot back, "I'm not 5 years old, I can take care of myself just fine!"

"20 bucks sis!!" Joseph shouted joyfully in the rain as Dunga turned and stomped off.

Mariam pulled a crisp dollar bill from her cloak and shoved it in her brother's face.  "Now would you GET LOST???"  Joseph happily took his prize and raced off to the nearest Beyblade store.  Mariam turned around to see Ozuma looking at her, raising his eyebrow.

"What was that all about?" he asked, looking doubtfully at Joseph's retreating back.

"Nothing," Mariam said, blushing again, "Well…I sorta made a bet with him…"

"A bet?  When were you into gambling?"

"It's my own brother, okay?" Mariam said, making a face at him, "I betted him 20 dollars that you chucked my blade in the trash."

Ozuma's eyes widened, remembering the thought he had when he entered Max's hobby shop, "Well…that's nice of you.  What made you think that I would do that?"

"Because you were so arrogant a few days ago," Mariam explained faintly, "But seriously Ozuma, you wouldn't know how happy I was when I saw my blade again.  Even if they aren't the same parts, it still means a lot to me, especially since you went through all that trouble."

"I'm just glad you're back to your old self again," Ozuma admitted, "You were driving me mad with your lame, sulking attitude…"

"Lame???  Hey, I lost my blade then," Mariam protested, "I had the right to be upset…"

"You could've gone and brought a new Beyblade like Joseph did," Ozuma pointed out, "But, you always had to take the hard road out…that would've been so much simpler…"

"Oh Lord, you are SUCH a straight edge…"

"Not with _that_ again…"

"Well, you are.  Everything's so simple to you.  I do wish that your life would twist up like a pretzel or something…"

"Well, _that's_ awfully nice…"

"I'd love to see how you deal with complication…" Mariam said teasingly.

Ozuma's eyes flickered and he leaned forward again, his eyes intensely focused on her.  With his hand softly touching her cheek, Ozuma gently drew her closer to him until their lips met in a soft kiss.  Mariam's eyes flew open in surprise, this was not at all what she had been expecting from him.  It felt different, her body was going all tingly and she shivered.  Before she had time to response, Ozuma pulled back, looking embarrassed.

"Ozuma…?" Mariam whispered, "What was that for?"

Ozuma blushed a bit, his emerald eyes were bright and sparkling, "Sometimes…things get complicated.  I don't really know how to explain it."

Mariam smiled, doing her share of the blushing, "So everything's not as simple as you thought it was then?"

"Really," Ozuma scoffed, leaning in again and tilting her face towards his.  "That would get so boring…" he murmured against her lips.

"You know what?" Mariam murmured, "I don't understand you at all."

"Good," Ozuma said huskily, "Then I'm not such a straight edge after all."  Their kiss deepened, drowning them both in a sea of emotions with waves of sweet tenderness lapping around them.  The rain silently pounded on the leaves and ground as feelings were once rekindled and the flame of innocent love was once lit.

= // + **The End** + \\ =

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            So how was it?  I hope it wasn't complete junk. _  It's not my usual sort of writing, I writing fighting and killing, lol.  Anyways, please review and let me know what you think and check out my other fics when you get the time!****


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